Black Rock Shooter - Beautiful Tragedy
by Mio-san
Summary: Black Rock Shooter is a girl with a mysterious past. In a futuristic dystopian city, she meets a group of skilled warriors who fight for a better world - but how realistic is their goal? And can they convince BRS that there is still hope? Contains a few OCs, BRSxOC (among others!). Rated T for battle/action scenes and drama, because I'm paranoid.
1. Monochrome

Falling.

I'm falling into a world alight with savage blue flame.

My memory is slipping away, and I know that I will soon cease to exist.

So before this happens, I will document the past few months for those who wish to know the truth. You know who you are.

_Watashi wa Burakku Rokku Shūtā._

I am Black Rock Shooter.

It began, as any good story does, in the post-apocalyptic future.

I had wandered for several days, shielding myself from the harsh winds that blew across the empty landscape. Night had come and gone with the slightest distinction, for now the sky was dark enough so that even the moon's cycle was indiscernible from the sun's.

A voice echoed in my head, calling out the same mocking, searching words:

_Black Rock Shooter, where did you go? Can you hear me?_

That's what they called me, though anyone who had done so was surely gone by now. Black Rock Shooter. The Black Star, perhaps. Or Black Shooter. Always "black", though. The monochrome shade that had haunted me my entire life.

Now, everything had become that same dull color. Even the silver on my boots had been worn away to show the black leather underneath. The first few days, I was convinced that I had gone insane, and had remained huddled underneath the wreckage that I used to call home. Several delirious hours gave me the shock I needed for my instincts to kick in.

So I began to walk, stepping lightly over the carnage that rested at my feet. I hadn't known where I was going, and I still didn't know. My only thought was to leave that destruction behind. Memories rested in that burned-out shell, things that would have remained nestled in the deepest crevices in my mind had I not left. And memory was my enemy in this game of wills. I wanted to survive. The planet wanted me to die. I would not give up that easily.

I watched the horizon in front of me and shifted my weight from leg to leg as my eyes fell on the ruined city. Its once awe-inspiring skyline had been reduced to the mere skeletons of buildings, radiating an eerie, ominous aura that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction. Instinct led me to that familiar flex of my wrist; at that command, a lightweight katana unfolded in my hand and pierced the air in one quick movement. The mere sight of it relaxed me, though a weapon like this one was miniscule in comparison to the sight that rose before me. Ever since it had been given to me when I was younger… hm, a story to be told later. My point is that with it, I felt as if I could do anything.

Something, as I would find, to be disproven.

An ache had begun to form in my stomach by the approximate time that evening would have fallen. The city was looming ever closer, casting its shadow over me. I retracted my katana and picked up the pace ever-so-slightly, hoping to arrive before a colder temperature settled in the air. Now, however, I was walking in the outskirts of the ruined city, and the slightest of tremors ran through my body as I passed underneath the shadows of the half-crumbled skyscrapers. The monochrome gray of the sky had gone from pale to a steel-colored shade, and thunder rumbled overhead, echoing in my ears. My eyes narrowed indiscernibly, the first sign of emotion I had exposed for several days. Rain was coming.


	2. A New Color

Rain had begun to stain the cracked pavement by the time I had made fair progress into the heart of the city. I pulled my hood over my head and twitched in slight discomfort. I had gone too far to blanch at the sight of rain, but I was also self-admittedly hungry and exhausted.

It was unlike me to admit weakness, but I will say that what was about to happen was definitely not within normal parameters either.

I had barely taken four paces before thunder echoed overhead and the rain began to pour, welding its wrath in bursts of lightning. Unbothered, I continued to walk, but suddenly I heard it. Imperceptible. Almost. I whirled around, unfolded my katana at light speed, and deflected a dart that was speeding towards me. It hit the weapon and buried itself in the ground with a _thud. _

Where were they?

Ah. There they were.

With the press of a button, my katana transformed itself. I was now holding a military-class custom-made rock cannon, which was capable of blowing a mountain apart. Lifting my emotionless gaze to their hideout, I raised my arm and fired off a blast of blue plasma. For a moment there was silence, then a crumbling wall exploded, sending concrete soaring into the air. I narrowed my eyes, searching for any way they could have gotten away before my cannon hit, but I didn't see anything..

_Whizz… thud!_

Searing pain tore through my arm and raced up to my collarbone, and my vision was suddenly lined with red. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying out and flew towards the source of the bullet, holding my rock cannon out in front of me like a shield. A second bullet hit the mouth of my cannon and was deflected into a nearby building, causing it to rumble and shake. All of a sudden it became clear to me that I was fighting with an invisible enemy in a derelict city liable to come crashing down any moment, ending my life immediately.

There was nothing to be done about it.

From the shadows they emerged: A brunette armed with a pistol and dressed entirely in red, a younger girl with a rifle, and a raven-haired boy with a device I didn't recognize. The brunette aimed her pistol and fired off another shot, but I rolled to the side, got to my feet, and charged up my rock cannon. This time, the plasma hurtled straight towards them, and the raven-haired boy stepped in front of the two women. He pulled out a tiny remote and suddenly the plasma exploded as if it had hit a barrier. "C'mon!" he yelled to the two women. "Now's your chance!"

I folded my cannon back into a katana and slashed the air in front of me. They had split up, and I turned to face the brunette, who must have been the one who shot me. From a sheath at her side she pulled a rapier, stashing the pistol away. "If you wanna kick it old-school, have it your way," she grunted.

It was all I could do to keep a quizzical look from showing on my face. My katana collided with her rapier, and it was off in a strange dance. The boy and the younger girl had disappeared from sight, and all I was concerned with at the moment was this woman, whose red uniform contrasted harshly with the monochrome of this ruined city.

_Red. The color of blood._

I was surprised. Where had that come from? I hesitated, clutching my katana, and in that single instant a dart flew and embedded itself between my shoulder blades. If not for the bullet in my right arm, I might have been able to keep going, but the pain combined with the sedative that was sinking into my veins was too much. I dropped to my knees and had just enough sense to retract my katana before the world blurred into a monochrome shade, the same one that I had feared my entire life.


	3. That Which Bleeds

_How much longer should I scream? How many more tears should I shed? Enough already, I can't run anymore… the world I once dreamed of is lost._

Black was all around me. The monochrome shade that was hungry to corrupt me was everywhere, staining the tears that slid silently down my face. Intense fear squeezed my lungs in a vise. I gasped for breath and cried out in pain, clawing at the air. "Let me out!" I sobbed. "Let me out! Let me out!"

A drop of blood fell from my wrist and hit the surface beneath me, causing a new wave of pain to soar through me and leave me breathless. The crimson color bled out onto the black, morphing this frightening, midnight dreamscape into a small red room. I gulped down my uncertainty and looked around, wondering where I was. "Hello?" I rasped, reaching for the familiar comfort of my katana.

It wasn't there.

Across the room, an indiscernible figure emerged from the wall dressed in an identical red. It regarded me in silence and began to slowly stride towards me with a cold, cruel smile. I backed up in horror and screamed again. "Get me out! _Get me out of here!_"

With a sudden, swift motion, the figure unsheathed a sword of its own and pointed it at me. I sank to my knees and stared up at it as it approached me, still smiling as if it enjoyed my fear. "Wake up," it said in a vaguely feminine voice, drawing back the sword. "Come on, wake up."

"No," I whispered. "Never."

"Wake up," the figure repeated, and stabbed me through the heart.

My eyes flew open.

A familiar girl was kneeling at my side, shaking me. "Come on," she murmured. "Wake up, wake up."

I gulped in a breath of air and tried to focus. At my slight gasp, she looked up and her eyes widened. They were teal-colored pools of innocence. "You're awake!"

I brushed away a tear that had slipped from my eye and shrank behind my cold outer shell. "Who are you?" My voice was low and raspy.

"You can call me Mi-chan, if you want," the girl said with an encouraging smile. "Thank goodness you're awake, we were all starting to get worried."

"Wor-ried?" A dry mouth divided the word into two separate ones. My mind flashed back to my three attackers, and without thinking, my face contorted in puzzlement. It was hard to believe that they would be worried about the very person they tried to eliminate…

Ah. That was how I knew the girl. She was the rifle-welder from the assault. But as I surveyed her delicate white hands, her slim body and girlish teal pigtails, my brain encountered difficulty matching her up with the determined warrior I had confronted. But now she was here in front of me, acting as cheerful and encouraging as if I had merely tripped and fallen, and she was the older sister who wanted to help. It was interesting.

Mi-chan lifted a white roll of bandages from a drawer nearby and measured out a length of it, then bit off the excess. "This might hurt a little," she said, "but it'll help your injuries heal." Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Mi-chan began to wrap the bandage tightly around my injured arm. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming, and managed to still keep my face emotionless. "It… doesn't… hurt…"

She paused and looked up at me with concern. "It's okay, you know."

I was silent by means of confusion.

Mi-chan resumed wrapping. My arm felt as if all of the blood was being squeezed out of it. "Saying that it hurts. Crying. You were having a nightmare."

I shuddered involuntarily.

"Like that," Mi-chan pointed out. "It's okay to feel pain. That's who we are."

She didn't understand.

"You may not think so, and I understand."

She didn't.

Mi-chan finished the bandage and secured it at the end. "Something's happened to me, too." She pointed at the scar on my midriff, and the second one on my chest, and then turned around, pulling down the loose collar of her shirt. A long, white line that peaked at her shoulder and slid down towards her tailbone marred her upper back. Letting the collar fall back into its position, Mi-chan turned back around. "It really hurt. But that's what I'm saying. It's okay to hurt. You're human, just like us."

_I'm not._ But my eyes softened somewhat. I nodded slightly.

"See? There's some emotion!" Mi-chan smiled and poked my forehead with one white finger. "It isn't so hard!"

I tried to smile back. It was a strange feeling. But I liked it.


	4. Echoing Voice

Sakine Meiko strode purposefully down the hall, trying and failing to ignore the throbbing pain in her leg. Haku had patched it up pretty well, but a direct blast from a cannon was a little hard to get over within the space of a few days. Especially when the cannon-welder was easily as skilled as three of her warriors… _Dangit! _Meiko hated admitting weakness, but today an exception was made. The mysterious black-haired girl had fought well, even if they had overpowered her. And even now, as Meiko was walking towards the infirmary to visit her for the first time, she couldn't help but feel a slight tingle of anticipation. What would this girl be like? She couldn't imagine her as their own Mi-chan, cheerful and innocent, but she couldn't possibly be as mature as she had appeared in battle. She was a teenager, for God's sake! Meiko scolded herself for her irrelevant train of thought, but she still couldn't help but wonder.

She reached the door of the infirmary and pushed it open confidently, adjusting her posture to taller and stronger to make it clear who the leader was in this confrontation. But it appeared that she shouldn't have worried as much. The raven-haired girl lay on a hospital bed next to Mi-chan, who knelt at her side and was humming a cheerful tune. It was nothing much—some children's rhyme put to song—but the girl was rapt with attention, gazing at Mi-chan as if she was an alien. _What's wrong with her? _Meiko wondered. _She's never heard music before?_

All of a sudden the tune broke off, and Mi-chan jumped into a salute. "Sakine-sama!" she exclaimed. "My apologies, I didn't see you come in."

"At ease," Meiko reassured her. She walked over to the girl, who was staring at her suspiciously. She struggled into a sitting position, ignoring the bandage that had come loose from her arm.

Meiko and the girl stared at each other for a long second. Finally, Mi-chan found her voice to interject. "Sakine-sama, this is, er…" She and the girl had a quick conversation conveyed with the widening of eyes and the tiniest shake of a head, and then she turned back to Meiko. "Rock. This is Rock."

"Rock," Meiko repeated, and the girl tensed up, as if she expected hostility. "Nice to meet you, Rock. I'm Sakine Meiko, I was with the patrol that caught up with you."

Rock regarded her critically. She was pretty but very thin; the sharp edges of her ribs protruded from her skin. She was wearing a zip-up top that exposed her midriff and black shorts that matched just about everything else she was wearing—all black. The only hint of color was in her navy blue eyes, which blazed with a fierce intensity that Meiko herself had trouble mustering. A stitched-up scar ran underneath her upper chest; another marred her left hip. Clearly, this girl had been through the mill, Meiko decided. _Alone and half-starved. I pity her._

"Nice to meet you," Rock finally echoed. She tried to extend her hand, but winced and flopped back down onto the pillow. Her face immediately morphed from pained to completely unreadable once more. Meiko almost admired the way that she was able to cover it up in one swift expression.

"Rock!" Mi-chan complained, tightening the bandage with a sigh. "I told you to be careful!" She turned back to Meiko and sighed. "Sorry about that, Sakine-sama. She's so determined to get up and moving!"

"That's fine," Meiko said with a nod of approval. "I wish everyone here was like that."

"Everyone…?" Rock repeated. She only seemed to convey words that had been spoken before, so it was like listening to a constant echo.

Mi-chan looked at her, and then back at Meiko, and left Rock's side, walking towards her superior with a worried look on her face. "I haven't told her about… well, you know."

Meiko caught herself before she let an aggravated sigh escape. "If you don't think she can handle it yet, I trust your judgment. But we have to tell her sometime."

"I understand." Mi-chan dipped her head respectfully.

Meiko waved her off and moved a little closer to Rock, studying her with interest. Then she noticed the bandage on her arm and realized what the girl must have been waiting for—recognition, at most. "I'm, er, sorry about that," Meiko said awkwardly, gesturing to the bandage. "We get a little carried away trying to neutralize potential threats."

Usually, an outsider would have looked at her like, _Huh? _but Rock seemed to understand every word. She nodded in comprehension with a guarded but watchful stare, something rather dignified to muster when you were laying on a hospital bed in the infirmary. "I understand. Neutralization."

Mi-chan yelped. "You talked for yourself!"

Meiko scowled at her and Mi-chan silenced herself. "Glad to hear you understand," she encouraged lightly. "In any case, we have to keep ourselves safe. It's a dangerous world out there, you know."

"I know." Rock had slipped back into her echo.

There was a long silence.

Finally, Mi-chan shook her head as if clearing it of pesky thoughts. "Oh! What am I thinking? Rock, you need to be resting," she chided. "Sakine-sama, you'll have to excuse us. I want Rock's wound healing up nice and good."

Meiko almost laughed at the expression on Rock's face. "Alright," she consented. "As long as she's in good hands. Mi-chan, you know where I'll be if you need any help."

"Roger!" Mi-chan chirped, and Meiko smiled. She reminded her of how she had been as a teenager. Spirited and earnest—before the accident, that was…


	5. Memory

My eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly in the sunlight. The blanket beneath me was clenched in my fist—I had had a nightmare. Another, it seemed. Ever since I had blacked out during the battle, they had haunted me every time I closed my eyes. A dimension of nothingness. Burning pain. A mysterious red figure. And, of course, black. It followed me everywhere.

"Aw, cheer up, will ya? I hate to see that pretty little face all scrunched up."

I scrambled up in my bed, startled at the voice that had sounded. Perched on the edge of the bed, so close that our noses were almost touching, was a girl about my age. Her bright green eyes widened as she leaned in closer with a grin. "Hey, finally awake, huh?"

For the sake of my innocence, I said nothing.

"Don't be so shy," the girl chided, tilting my chin with one delicate finger. "Don't worry, I don't bite… usually!"

She was unusual, to say the most. Her hair was curled in a zigzag pattern that fell around her face and possessed a certain green tint. She was wearing a black dress with white ribbon and matching leggings, with heels that were so painfully high I almost winced looking at them. Noticing my stare, the girl gave a short laugh and grinned again. "You like 'em? I don't think they're really your style, but you can try them if you want!"

I shook my head in polite decline and looked around the room for my teal-haired caretaker. "Where…"

"Is Mi-chan?" the girl finished. "She had to do some stuff for Sakine, so I volunteered. And I don't regret it, either!" She tugged one of my pigtails playfully. "You know, you should try putting these down once in a while. And maybe not wear this coat all the time. It must be stifling." She fanned herself with one hand while looking me over critically.

Scrambling for words to match against my new companion, I decided to start simple. "Who are you?"

"Dead Master," the girl proclaimed, sitting up on her knees, then sliding back down to a more comfortable position. "You can call me De-chan, if you want. And you're Rock, I hear?"

I nodded in silent assent. No one had ever called me Rock before—with the exception of the woman, Sakine Meiko—but I figured it was better than "that girl who's in the infirmary."

At my reaction, De-chan smiled invitingly. "There ya go! I know I'd get something out of you at some point. Now," she said, shifting on the bed so she was just as close as she had been before, "we can't just sit here and do nothing, can we?"

Wondering what De-chan's idea of doing something would be, I moved a little further away from her and pressed against the wall. "No…"

"Good," she said with a firm nod. "Why don't we start simple? Little bit of conversation'll be good for you!"

I gulped. To me, conversation was scarier than anything else De-chan had up her sleeve. Ignoring my hesitance, she crossed her legs and leaned back on her hands, giving me significantly more personal space than what seemed usual for her. "Okay, so why were you out wandering around the city? It's dangerous, you know."

"I…" I paused and a flood of memory streamed though me, leaving me breathless. For the first time since I had arrived in this strange place, I was plunged into a flashback, whirling through a maelstrom of time and space to a place I had long since forgotten.

_A young girl sat on the edge of the carpet, building a tower out of blocks. She placed the last piece on top and jumped to her feet with a smile. "Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Come see!"_

_An older girl emerged from the doorway across the room, drying her hands with a towel. "Hey, that's cool! What is it?"_

"_It's my tower of domination!" the younger girl announced. "It's gonna help me dominate the world!"_

"_Oh, really?" the older girl laughed. Running a hand through her silvery white hair, she joined the other girl on the carpet. "You're going to have to work hard if you want to dominate the world."_

"_I can do it!" exclaimed the younger girl. "I don't need anyone's help, either!"_

"_That's great," she replied, ruffling her sister's raven-black locks. "But you don't have to do everything alone."_

"_Yeah!" the young girl said. "Onee-chan can fight off my opp-res-sors!" _

'_Onee-chan' was clearly trying not to laugh. "You're way too smart for your age, you know that?"_

"_I know," she said confidently. "And besides, I know I'm not alone. I have you."_

"_Well, duh," her older sister said. "I love you, Rock."_

"Rock. Rock! _Rock_!"

My eyes flew open. De-chan's concerned face hovered above me, and I realized that I was sprawled on the floor, my head in her lap. "Are you okay?" she asked, knitting her brow.

"Fine," I grunted, getting to my feet and sitting on the edge of the bed. An ache was building in my chest, as painful and large as the hole the flashback had shot through my heart.

"_Run, Rock!"_

"_No! I won't leave you!"_

Emotion welled up inside me and I dropped my face into my hands, shivering. Five seconds passed, and then I felt an arm around my shoulder. "Hey, Rock," De-chan said softly. "I didn't mean to do… whatever I did."

I mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"It wasn't you."


	6. Colors I Have Known

The next morning I awoke with tears in my eyes. I had had a nightmare, as usual. But this time, it had been different.

Mi-chan was back, though she seemed busier than usual. She hurried between the infirmary and the rest of the building, stopping by to change my bandages and occasionally sit and rest for a few minutes. In what little time I had to talk to her, she told me that I would be able to leave the infirmary soon. It would have been sooner, if not for the fact that I had continued fighting after Sakine Meiko, the mercenary and apparently Mi-chan's commander, after she had shot me. I had lost quite a bit of blood, and needed healing time to replenish myself. This all according to Mi-chan, of course. I itched to get out of this place and continue on, but something made me stay and follow her orders. Maybe it was the fact that she was the first person in what felt like an eternity to treat me with kindness.

For now, I was alone, sitting up in my hospital bed and staring down at the bandage on my arm. It didn't hurt when I touched it anymore, but when I moved it and flexed the muscle underneath, a wave of pain washed over me. I considered it bearable, but I wouldn't be able to fight with it weighing me down.

In consequence, I had to wait.

It was infuriating, though I would never admit such a thing. I had never been left out of the action before—mostly because there was no one to leave me out. My katana, mounted carefully on the wall across from me, seemed to be silently taunting me. _Come and get me if you dare, _it said. _Leave this place before you're hurt again._

That afternoon, the doctor came to visit me for the first time while I was conscious. She was a woman, clearly older than Mi-chan, with white-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and eyes that were a strange shade of violet. It startled me. Those eyes were unnatural.

"You must be Rock," she said, running one hand through her hair while another was held out to me in greeting and her eyes darted around the room. She shifted her weight from leg to leg and tapped her foot on the white tile. It was exhausting to watch. "I'm Haku, the person they have patch up everybody else. Let's have a look at that arm, shall we?"

Without waiting for me to shake her hand, she withdrew it and began to unwrap my bandage. Her hands were ice-cold. "Hmm, looks pretty good. You must have a dang good immune system if you heal this fast. Does it hurt when I touch it?"

I shook my head.

"Can you flex it for me?"

I did so and nearly passed out.

"Ouch, okay, so still healing up a little bit. God-dangit, where's my light?"

Haku rummaged around in her pockets and brought out a tiny silver device, which she flicked on to reveal a bright light that she shone at my injury. Startled, I struggled not to let the emotion show on my face and tried not to cry out as she poked around the wound with her light, mumbling to herself in her rapid-fire fashion.

"No infection, Mi-chan did a pretty good job, wait, what's that—dang, dropped my light—never mind, I was imagining things, good thing Sakine decided to take you to us, otherwise you wouldn't have survived the night, those things are nasty, lethal, that…"

Eventually I stirred, and Haku seemed to remember that she was checking a human being instead of a stationary mannequin. "Whoops, sorry Rock, guess I got caught up in my work. The good news is, you'll probably be up and running within the next few days. The only bad news is if you're right-handed. Are you right-handed, Rock?"

I shook my head again.

"Good, then there is no bad news. Any other problems, phantom pain, lack of pain, soreness in the back trouble with eyesight light-headedness hallucinations limb functionality below par weakness paleness scars aching loss of feeling in hands unintentional movement headaches migraines stomach pain trouble breathing?"

She said it all so fast I could barely keep up. I shook my head yet again, fairly sure that I wasn't experiencing any of the things she had listed.

"Great. You're pretty tough, Rock. You're gonna need that, here." Haku slipped the light back into her pocket and started towards the door. "I'm off, but if you have any trouble with your arm, tell me or Mi-chan, got it?"

I nodded. It was a relief for once to say yes to her strangely unreasonable statements.

"Ookay. The more you rest, the faster you'll heal, so get some shuteye, alright?" Haku flung open the door and staggered out into the hallway, letting it swing shut behind her.

That woman… not of sound mind, I thought with a firm nod.

With a tiny sigh, I fell back onto the bed and closed my eyes, but almost immediately forced them open in terror. I couldn't revisit those nightmares again… what was I thinking?

So instead, I rose and walked over to the window. Fortunately, Mi-chan and I had done some walking exercises so I was able to move about fairly well, despite still feeling quite weak. Keeping one hand on the bed to support myself, I gazed out of the glass, caked with debris along the edges from years of neglect. The dilapidated skyline of the ruined city rose above me.

I reached out with a pale hand and brushed the glass, realizing that I hadn't tasted fresh air in several days. Of course, what passed for "fresh air" was nothing of the sort, but it left me longing to escape this place and be on my own again—no matter how kind these people were, I would have to leave eventually. That was my curse. And I couldn't bear to see the bodies of more innocent humans.

Blue, red, green, white. All colors I had come to know since I had arrived.


	7. Wingbeats

**A/N: It's an author's note! **

**Hehe, I was looking over my other, older stories and realized that I hadn't included A/N's in any of them… so I know it's a little late, but ta-da!**

**Anyway, I know I haven't updated in forever. ****Sorrysorrysorry! I promise to be more frequent!**

**For some reason, there is a voice in my head chanting **_**Empty promise, empty promise…**_

_Someday, the world I dreamt of will be shut away. On this dark, crumbling road where light doesn't shine, in that moment, I felt like I saw a ray of hope that wasn't supposed to be there._

She was frail, but beautiful, like a butterfly with shattered wings.

"Oya, Aki!"

Shion Kaito scowled at him from across the ring. "What's up with you? Spacing out again?"

Kimura Akihiro blinked, focusing on his blue-haired opponent. "Sorry, Kaito-_kohai. _Something on my mind, is all."

"You know I don't like it when you call me that!" Kaito protested. "And I'm not your _kohai_!"

"Yes, you are," Aki countered, then dodged as a beam of blue light shot past him and sunk into the wall. "And God, learn to aim, please?"

"Whatever," said Kaito, his default response. "You're not the only one with something on your mind."

Aki's face contorted in puzzlement before the pieces came together. "Hey, you're still not obsessing over Dead-san, are you?"

Kaito blushed—yet another reason for Aki to tease him. "N-no way."

"I knew it!" Aki crowed, pointing an accusing finger at his friend. "I _knew _it! I _knew _you still liked her! She's going to _love _this…"

Another beam of light streamed towards him, and Aki had just enough time to activate his shield and absorb the blast. "Not funny," Kaito warned. "Tell her about it, and I'll take advantage of your spacy-ness."

"Sakine-sama wouldn't allow that."

"Nah, of course she wouldn't… but I'd do it anyway." Kaito jabbed the air in front of him experimentally. "You can't defeat my mad skills."

"Oh, yeah?" Aki laughed. "Watch me!" He tapped the wristband on his arm and a dart embedded itself in Kaito's arm. "Ow!" he yelped, plucking it out of his sleeve. "Come on, really?"

Aki shrugged. "Just trying to make you a better warrior. If that was a sedative dart, you'd be dead right now."

"Dead." Kaito's eyes glossed over.

Aki rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love."

He vaulted over the edge of the barrier, leaving his friend spacing out in the training ring behind him, and leaned against the wall, checking the auto-message widget in his wristband. The little piece of machinery had it all: darts (as shown), revival chemicals, a lighter, a laser, an old-fashioned knife, a magnifying glass, and a mini computer, to name a few. _No new messages, _Aki mused, mentally scrolling through the selection. _Oh, wait… from Sakine Meiko…_

The message read, in New Japanese, as follows:

_Akihiro—_

_The girl is getting out of the infirmary today. I need you to show her around and explain things as best as you can._

_-Sakine_

Aki's heart skipped a beat.

_The girl… that means… _

Aki sprang to his feet. Kaito was still standing, glossy-eyed, in the middle of the ring, but the dark-haired boy vaulted back over the edge and grabbed Kaito's arm, jolting him out of his fantasy… whatever fantasy he might have been experiencing. "Hey! A-Aki!" he stuttered as Aki pulled him out of the ring and down the hallway, to the bewildered stares of others. "What're you doing?"

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before," Aki said, trying to keep his tone light while slowing his pace. "Did you hear about the girl I brought in with Mi-san and Sakine-sama?"

Kaito frowned. "Yeah, I think I heard something like that. What about it?"

"That girl's in the infirmary," Aki explained. "Sakine-sama just asked me to show her around, since she's mostly recovered."

"Can she have visitors?"

"I'm hoping to God the answer is yes."

The infirmary was just down the hall, and as Aki and Kaito approached, the door swung open. Mi-chan emerged, combing an absentminded hand through one of her azure pigtails. "Mi-chan!" Aki called as they slowed.

Mi-chan jumped and noticed them. "Oh! Hi, Akihiro-san, Kaito-san. Coming to visit my patient?"

"Can she have visitors?" Aki repeated Kaito's question, mentally crossing his fingers.

"Oh, sure," said Mi-chan. "But let her rest, okay?"

"Thanks!" Aki waved gratefully as Mi-chan brushed past and pushed through the door, with Kaito in tow, alive with anticipation.

"Who are you?"

There she was, sitting against the wall with a book propped in her lap and a katana lying on the end of the bed. Her black coat was on a hook nearby, leaving her painfully thin arms exposed. But what struck Aki were her eyes; just as icy blue as he remembered.

_Beautiful._

"Um, Earth to Akihiro!" Kaito pinched him on the arm and Aki yelped, stumbling further into the room. "God, what's wrong with you? You're so—" He broke off, seeing Aki's face as he approached the bed.

"Who are you?" the girl asked again, frowning. The expression was alien on her face, compared to the taciturn expression it had displayed during their battle.

"I, uh…" Aki forgot how to speak. He heard a distinct chuckle coming from behind him. That would be Kaito.

_Wait a second. What the heck does he think he's doing? He's making a fool out of me in front of her!_

Aki shook the fog out of his head. "I'm Kimura Akhiko… I was with—"

The girl cut him off. "You fought me."

"Uh, yeah…" He laughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that, we've really got to—"

"Neutralize any potential threats." Apparently, Aki thought, this girl had a knack for interrupting. "Sakine-sama informed me."

"Rather formal, isn't she?" Kaito murmured, and Aki elbowed him in the side. The girl continued to stare at them as if they were from another planet.

"So, um…" Aki hadn't stuttered this much since he was seven years old. "Speaking of Sakine-sama, she asked me to show you around…?"

"Ah." The girl's face flickered in recognition. "I see. So, are we going?"

"Where?"

"Showing me around…"

"Ah!" Aki echoed, and Kaito snickered. "_Ah!_" he imitated, and then, "Ouch!" as his friend elbowed him yet again. "Right. So, er… shall we go?"

The girl nodded and stood up, and Aki was struck by how thin her legs were. "My name is Rock."

"Kimura Akhiko…" Aki trailed off, ignoring Kaito's muttered, "You already said that…"

_Never mind him, _the black-haired boy thought, as he offered his arm to Rock. She acknowledged it with a nod, but walked straight past and stood by the door. _I've got a date… er, engagement… oh, who am I kidding. It's a date!_

**A/N: And that's the introduction of my OC! Expect more fluffiness to come! **

**Sorry, this was kind of a filler chapter, but I promise we'll be picking things up super soon! And I WILL make the chapters longer from now on!**

**There's that voice again…**


End file.
